Misadventures: Rocky and ?
by My Thoughts and Opinions
Summary: A new pup shows up at the Lookout, with a strange problem. It turns out, she will change the life of a certain gadgeteer genius.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, fellow fanfic readers 'n' writers! I can't believe I didn't do something like this before, even with it being suggested to me almost a year ago! This will be as close to a stand-alone story as I can do for a 'Misadventures' substory, and I really hope you enjoy this one. Please REAR!**

**WARNING: Due to the nature of this story and the way that I've decided to go about it, I have no choice but to put a trigger warning. Don't read if you don't like it and if you get triggered easily. And if you still do, and get triggered, don't say I didn't warn you and especially don't leave a hate review just because.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own this show. I don't say that I do either, because if I did, it would be a lie and I would probably be arrested immediately.**

A shy stray pup looked at the tall building on the hill and swallowed hard. This was the only place where she could get help for her insufferable addiction.

This pup was a Shikoku, mostly matte black, with white fur running down her chest to her underbelly, and white under her curled tail. She also had a white muzzle and white cheeks. Her small black ears lay flat against her head as she thought about what she was about to do. Her dark brown eyes looked all around, trying to detect any danger of intruders.

"Please help me," she besought no one as she climbed the hill and trudged around to the back.

* * *

The Expert was with Rocky as the technically gifted pup worked on a new invention. What it would do, he didn't know yet, but that was sometimes half the fun, he said. His companion was there to make sure that he didn't kill himself whilst he worked. **[Hahahahaaaa...]**

Suddenly, they both heard a noise coming from outside. The Expert, calm as ever, went out to investigate like the detective he was.

He very quickly found the source of the sound. A twig had been snapped by something. His nose caught the scent of something odd. It was a fellow canine, but he didn't recognise exactly who it was. "Someone new is visiting us. Maybe this could be it." **[Could be what?]**

He looked at the twig, mentally measuring the distance between the broken pieces of wood. "Seems like a Shiba Inu or a Shikoku." He looked up and around himself, his eyes falling on the open mouth of his own house. The darkness shrouded the interior well, but The Expert could tell that there was someone inside it. He strode up and heard a muffled female voice say, "They won't find me here."

He would-have-smiled. "Hey." **[They found her there.]**

She jumped in shock and looked up at the friendly, unsmiling face of The Expert.

"You're ... The Expert, a-aren't you?" He shook his head yes. "W-well, no wonder you found me here. You are an expert at these things, after all." She got a half-shrug in response. **[These guys are probably more famous than the rest of the Patrol.]**

"What's your name?" he asked her, to which she responded, "Luna."

"So Luna, can you tell me what a Shikoku like yourself is doing in my house on this fine day?"

"W-well, she's - "

"Looking for someone." **[And there it is. You knew it was coming.]**

She paused, and then she said silently, "Yes. Y-you, actually."

"What is it that you wish?" The Expert queried.

"I want you to help me with a problem that I have. It's ... a-an addiction, really." He moved his head in understanding.

"I'd be glad to assist you. Who is it?" Her jaw dropped, and she fainted; she recovered in a few seconds though. This was The Expert, after all - he was bound to figure it out. **[Oops - uh, I guess.]**

Meanwhile, Rocky was becoming concerned that his albino stoic friend hadn't returned yet, and right when something went wrong too. He peeked his head out of his house to see that very pup having a conversation with a stranger pup that had apparently taken shelter in The Expert's own home. He decided to find out what was going on.

The two of them saw him approaching, and the girl shrunk further into the darkness. The Expert didn't fail to see that. **[I can only imagine the fun things that are gonna happen now. Heavy on the sarcasm, please.]**

"What's going on, The Expert? Who are you talking to?"

"Hello, Rocky. This is Luna, and she's come here because she needs help with an addiction with which she's having trouble."

"Huh." He looked at the cowering Shikoku pup in the house, who waved timidly at him. He returned it. "Okay. Well, when you're done, please let me know. The mechanism of the ventilator has been decapitulated, and the temperature regulator is having to work twice as hard to stop the contraption from overheating - but it's not enough and the metalloid structure is starting to be ardent and it could combust at any moment." **[Ooh. Big words.]**

"You know what? I'll come right now. That sounds very serious." The Expert turned to Luna. "Could you stay here for a few minutes?"

"I-I suppose so. Be careful, okay?" **[We can be sure she said that to only one of them.]**

"We will," he assured her, and he and the mixed breed pup walked back to the green pup house.

Luna watched them leave, putting her head down on her paws and mumbling something to herself as she did.

Her silence wouldn't last long, though, because another white pup showed up out of nowhere and spotted her in the house. **[So what was that about nobobdy finding you there? That's two already.]**

"Whoa, I didn't expect guests today. What's going on?"

"Oh. Um, hey. S-Stefan, right? I'm Luna, a-and I need help. I-I have an addiction."

"You do?" He stepped into the house and sat beside her. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

* * *

During Stefan's chat with Luna, Rocky and The Expert had talked about their surprise visitor.

"I think it's odd for a pup to have an addiction," Rocky had said. **[Said many other fanfiction readers 'n' writers out there, until they realised what I meant.]**

"Chase had one. So did Marshall and Rererangi. Their respective addictions did too," The Expert reminded him.

"Oh," Rocky mused as he pieced together this meaning of the word. "But to whom would it be directed? All the good people are taken." **[Objectively. Just like how I am objectively better than some on this site. Not bashing anyone, remember: objectively.]**

The Expert ignored him completely. Instead he said, "You've never decided to use that many technical terms to anyone before today, not even to me. To everyone, a ventilator is a fan, and being ardent is simply glowing. Normally you treat it as such so they can know about what you're talking."

"I wanted to conceal the nature of the problem," he justified, looking up to his right as he spoke. **[Lies!]**

"You're lying. You did it for another reason. I'd wager a guess on you wanting to sound intelligent in front of our lady guest to impress her."

"They don't call you The Expert for nothing," Rocky muttered, chuckling. "Yeah, I did. I think she's - "

"Oh, look. Your problem is a cog that doesn't fit properly," The Expert interrupted as he pulled it out to show the mechanics mastermind. "Do you have another one?"

"Uh, I should," Rocky said as he went around to the back of his house to find a suitable gear replacement.

As he did, The Expert said to himself, "Lovely. That's another pup off the list." **[What? He has a list for these things?]**

**Let's go! We are moving on and getting these pairings checked off the list. Like I said, please don't hate if you don't like what I've done, but if you did like it, awesome! Thanks very much!**

**'Til next time, see you tomorrow!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, fellow fanfic readers 'n' writers! We now continue with our ship story that we started yesterday. I don't really have much else to add, so please do read and enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Rights to this show I own not. The rights are by Nickelodeon and co. owned.**

It seemed to Rocky to be a coincidence that it had taken the same amount of time for The Expert and himself to deduce and solve the problem as it had for Stefan "The Criminal" to arrive and hear Luna's story, but that was apparently what had happened as he and his investigator friend returned to their guest to check on her.

The gadgeteer genius was having his mind work on overdrive, trying to understand to whom her addiction was directed. He thought about every available possibility and came up blank every time. **[Because we need tension.]**

Zuma? Sure, but he had never really taken interest in these sorts of topics when they'd come up. Luna would probably have known that if she, in any way, was 'addicted to him'.

Rubble? Unlikely. It was very probable that he was too young even to understand what would have been happening if it was him. **[Either that, or he'd like food more than them. Just saying.]**

Tracker didn't seem viable either. If he was the source then she would, more than likely, have gone out to the jungle to see him.

Rocky even considered Stefan. It would make sense. A lot of pups seemed to be interested in the albino brothers. But then, he was sure that the girl he'd saved from the white dog killer, Nicole was her name, had an insurmountable infatuation with him - and if Rocky wasn't mistaken, he liked her too.

Himself? That was even more unlikely than the rest of them. He was brilliant, he'd give himself that, but that was it. He wasn't suave or good-looking. He was nothing like that. On a mental scale of one to ten he was a zero. No, a rating that would be even more fitting was a negative twenty. **[Technically, ****he's not wrong. Wish he'd be more sure of himself, though.]**

And what made that fact all the more heartbreaking was that he had started to like her. **[Wonderful.]**

He barely knew her, but there was something about her that drew him to her and he didn't know why. He would have to talk to his friendly neighbourhood expert on things about this later.

But he put those sentiments to the back of his mind as the brothers talked about something that he couldn't entirely catch. He heard around three words, each of which had no definitive correlation to a proper answer to his mental queries.

Suddenly, he felt Stefan's gaze on him and he looked back, tilting his head in confusion. As soon as Stefan saw that, he turned back to whom Rocky assumed to be Luna and stated more words in what looked to be a definitive tone of arbitration. He also caught a glimpse of The Expert performing his traditional half-shrug, after Luna had seemingly asked him a question. All this served only to pique his curiosity. **[All the big words!]**

Very soon he saw the two albino Bernese mountain dogs step back and then emerged the black Shikoku who had caught his interest. And she proceeded to amble towards him.

Rocky tried hard not to think about how pretty she looked when she walked over to him, and instead tried to think about what she wanted. **[He probably failed.]**

"Um, h-hi, Rocky. I - um," she paused and swallowed thickly. "I wanted t-to ask y-you i-if you'd show me a-around. They ... they told me you'd b-be able to give the f-full tour, s-since you're the smart one."

Rocky didn't miss any of the stammers. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that that meant nervousness or anxiety, but why would she be so nervous to ask for a tour? Especially after she'd probably spent a good five minutes talking with Stefan and The Expert about this very moment? Perhaps she was naturally shy. **[I mean, again, he's not really wrong.]**

"Absolutely. I wouldn't reject a proposition to take an excursionist as yourself for a jaunt around the Lookout." **[That could genuinely have ended after word one.]**

She looked at him blankly, clearly not understanding all the words that were spoken. Rocky caught on and felt his face start to boil. "Uh, I mean, yes. I'd be glad to."

She smiled at him and giggled a little. "So shall we go?" she prompted.

"We shall," he responded, and the pair strode away.

Once they were out of sight, Stefan grinned a big grin that would have made ear-to-ear an understatement. "This is going so well! I can't believe nothing's gone wrong yet." **[Key word: yet.]**

"Knowing you, something will go wrong," his older brother said, to his false horror.

"How dare ye? I never do such things to my friends and especially not to strangers!"

"Said Marshall and Everest." **[Said Marshall and Everest.]**

"Yeah, yeah. Fine. But seriously, I promise, I won't try anything funny this time." He put his left front paw behind his back and his right front into the air in what he felt was a stance that emanated the lack of perjury. **[I hope he realises that you're actually supposed to put your right on the Book and the left in the air.]**

"And then you're going to go behind their backs and trap both of them in a cave somewhere until they confess their constantly growing emotions to each other, and then you're going to bring them back and say "Tastes like diabetes" and feel proud of yourself. So un-cross your digits."

Stefan's face immediately went deadpan, and he brought forward his paw and un-crossed his digits. "You're no fun." **[May I please 'XD'?]**

The Expert half-shrugged again. "I mean, you can do it, as long as you don't actually do anything dangerous."

Stefan's face brightened. "I take it back. You are fun." And he ran off.

The Expert immediately turned around and went back to accompany the small tour party of two. Needless to say, they were surprised to see him joining them. He only said that he was there just in case something bad happened - they acknowledged that with a smile and a shake of the head yes before they continued on.

Only five minutes later all three were abducted by a hooded figure. **[Shock horror twist!]**

* * *

"Where are we?" Rocky asked groggily as he awoke from his sudden slumber, seeing Luna not far from him. **[He asks this as though there will be someone conveniently positioned there to answer immediately.]**

"I ... I-I don't know," she stated worriedly as he got up to check on her. "I-I'm f-fine, thanks. What about you?"

"I'm okay, though I'd love to know where we are and how to get out of this place."

"Hmm. Déjà vu." Both Rocky and Luna jumped at the sound of another voice behind them, the latter more so. Though, they quickly recognised the flatness that was characteristic of only one individual in the world.

"The Expert, I didn't see you there," Rocky remarked when he had turned around. "Do you know where we are?"

"Fortunately, yes I do." Luna's face lit up like a hundred suns, as did Rocky's. "Unfortunately," he continued, making their faces drop a little, "we can't exactly leave right now due to that monstrosity." He pointed to his right to a blazing, stationary wall of fire. **[Whoa. Really déjà vu.]**

"Oh n-no, not f-f-fire..." Luna whispered as she backed away. "I d-don't like f-fire a-at all."

"Why not?" Rocky queried in a soft tone, to which she answered, "I-I haven't had th-the best experiences w-with it."

"A burnt pup dreads fire, after all," The Expert stated. Rocky agreed non-verbally. "What happened?" the white pup continued.

**Whoa, is that a cliffhanger? What could possibly have happened to this poor Shikoku? You shall find out in the next chapter! See you then!**

**'Til next time, ciao!**


	3. Finale

**Hello, fellow fanfic readers 'n' writers! You already know what this is, it's yet another installment of the story that I should have done a long time ago; but hey, we move anyway. This part has a sad beginning and a happy ending, which is how life should be. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I received a phone call from the albino brothers. They informed me that a document had been signed that legally makes all rights to this show unobtainable by me. Somebody in the legal field must not like me a lot.**

"I-I was just a-a few weeks old wh-when my p-parents took me to see our n-neighbour's house a-as it was burning. It was struck by lightning. By then, everyone had m-made it out s-safely and the f-fire department had already a-arrived and was doing th-their job." She sniffled. "B-But I was a tiny pup, I-I didn't understand h-how dangerous f-fire really was, e-even though my p-parents had told me a-about it. S-So I ran up to the house t-to get a c-closer look at it, and I-I got too close. The f-flames licked my f-fur and set m-me on f-fire." She paused to swallow past a mound in her throat and to wipe away a tiny droplet of salted water from her face. "Thankfully, m-my parents managed to p-put me out before any s-serious d-damage could be done. S-Since then, though, I-I've been scared of f-fire." **[That is bad.]**

She could feel tears starting to come hard and fast from her eyes. "Oh great, n-now I'm c-crying." She fell to the floor in mortification.

"Truth be told," Rocky started, blinking more than was considered normal, "I want to cry too." **[You're not alone in that regard.]**

"I get the feeling that you're not done, though," The Expert remarked. "Is there something else that happened?"

Luna nodded slowly, wiping more tears away - though to no avail as they kept coming. "They say lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place," she began, not stammering as she once did, even with her crying. "Well, for me it kind of did, literally. It was only two days after my neighbour's house was nearly razed when my own house suffered the same fate. I was away with some of my puppy friends when it happened, and my parents were at home. Unfortunately, the door crashed down before they could escape and they got trapped." She stopped talking for a second as she felt something wrap around her and something rest on her head. "The fire department did their best, but it was too late. They died from severe burns before they could even be found in the house." **[That is arguably worse.]**

The Expert stooped down to the ground to face her more easily. "Luna." She looked up at him. "I understand how that would affect you. It's perfectly normal to hate something after it did that to you."

"H-How would you know? It's - " **[And here we go.]**

"You want to talk about loss? You really want to do that?" He stared her in the eye, and all of a sudden she found those emotionless blue eyes to be deathly menacing. "You should count your blessings that at least your parents weren't taken by the acts of others as opposed to by an accident. Look at Rocky." She turned to face the mixed breed pup who had long since embraced her during her story. "His father was ruthlessly executed by drowning in an inescapable solid cage after being framed. His mother suffered the same fate after trying to defend her mate. And Rocky had to watch the entire thing. Isn't that right?" Rocky shook his head yes, sorrowfully. The Expert continued, "And then there's me. My mother was framed, too, and falsely imprisoned - and she rotted away in the cell before they could even find out that she was innocent. My father ..." His maw nearly contorted into a growl, he felt so angry. "My father was scammed out of his entire life by a fake gambler who got him to play Russian roulette with a bloody full gun." He stood back up. "And you want to talk about loss?" **[...]**

Luna could only watch him in sheer disbelief. She'd never known all that, and now she was reconsidering her situation. Was it really as bad as she made it out to be? **[Probably yes, but there is definitely worse, as we've learned.]**

"I didn't want to make you feel bad," the albino pup said, his voice much softer. "I just wanted you to realise that there are others who have had similar, even worse experiences. I apologise if I was too hard."

"N-No, i-it's alright. Y-You said what I needed to hear," she replied as she stood up again, tears drying. "S-Still, that doesn't help us escape. How do we get past that?" **[I was half-expecting to drag something out of nowhere to put out the flames, while saying 'I knew this would come in handy!'.]**

"Let me look at it for us," Rocky offered. He unwrapped himself from around the girl and proceeded to observe the raging inferno.

As he did, The Expert said to Luna, "You seem to be more confident around us. You're not stuttering as often anymore."

"I-I am warming up to you and him, definitely. I still feel strange around - uh, my addiction, though."

"You don't have to hide that it's Rocky. I know already." **[Because The Expert.]**

"Well, you are an expert at these things," she jested. That got a half-shrug in response, which was sufficient to convey the message that he liked the joke. "C-Can you tell me if ... if he likes me too?"

"Yes, I can." The Expert was about to continue, but he saw Rocky returning and decided against his original course of action. "Let's see what he has to say first."

Luna shook her head yes and turned to face her addiction, who began, "The problem now isn't the fire. It's that behind the fire is a ..." he gulped. "... a waterfall. It seems as though it's been made perpetual by a strange recycling machine. I didn't even know perpetual motion machines were possible." **[They shouldn't be.]**

"They aren't," The Expert confirmed.

"Right ... If the pupnapper managed to make the water's capillary action strong enough to pull itself upward to be able to fall again, then the action would also be able to prevent the water from falling when it was supposed to," Rocky reasoned. **[Yes, yes, nice and scientific.]** "So then, how is he doing that?"

Suddenly, the faint sound of rushing water that had slowly become noticeable stopped entirely. An amazingly large bucket tumbled down into the chamber in which they were trapped, and soon the water sound started again. Rocky laughed. "That's how, apparently."

"Wait a second," Luna jumped in. "We can wait until the water's stopped, then try to go through the fire." **[Finally. Some other one of my characters shows some form of idea forming.]**

"That's a very good idea. Isn't that right, Rocky?"

The gadgeteer genius hesitated. "Are you sure you won't mind the flames, Luna?"

She flushed at his consideration. "N-No, I won't. Getting out of this hellhole, literally, is more important than a little singeing."

"Alright, if you say so."

With that, the three lined up in front of the wall of fire and prepared to jump when the sound of water disappeared. As they waited, though, Rocky noticed that the Shikoku still had a very apprehensive look on her face. **[This ought to be good.]**

Thankfully, it appeared that the bucket used was much smaller, so the sound vanished very quickly.

The Expert jumped first, as the example. His pristine white fur wasn't burnt in the least.

Rocky took the leap next, and he came out unscathed too. He immediately wheeled around to watch Luna, hoping that she'd make it through without problems. **[Of course. Wouldn't you do that too? Or are you just that cold-hearted?]**

When she didn't emerge, he shouted back to her. "Don't worry! We'll be here when you come through!"

"I'm not sure about this anymore!" she shouted back.

"Why not? The Expert and I already did it, and we're fine! You can do this!

"I-I don't think I can!"

"I believe in you! We believe in you!"

"I can't! I have a bad feeling about it!"

By now, the water was pouring again onto the aquaphobic mixed breed, but he didn't care anymore. He needed Luna to be out of that cave. **[You can grab some snacks. We might be here for a while.]**

"There's a pup in love," The Expert muttered as he watched.

"Come on, Luna! We need you out here!"

"Go on without me! I'll be okay!"

"No! We're not leaving without you!

"But - "

"No ghost of a chance in this world!"

"Why are you so adamant?"

"You're my friend!"

"You have more friends outside! Forget about me!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because I love you!" **[Aaaand there it is. Awesome.]**

As though on cue, the water stopped flowing and allowed for a deafening silence to follow that sentence.

"You - you mean that?"

"Of course!" he yelled, no longer caring that any chance passerby might hear him. "I know it's on short notice, but I'm completely honest! And even if you don't feel the same, at least come out so ... "

He didn't say more, because he didn't get a chance to. Luna jumped through the fire fearlessly and ploughed over the drenched pup in utter ecstasy. **[Funny how that works.]**

"Rocky, you just made me the happiest girl in this world - because you are my addiction," she declared while giving him probably the biggest embrace that Rocky had ever gotten. "I love you too!" **[Tastes like diabetes. Might as well beat Stefan to it, am I right? ... No? Cool.]**

The Expert watched on, and soon at his side appeared Stefan. "Time to take them back!"

* * *

The four arrived at the Lookout, Rocky and Luna giving Stefan a thorough browbeating about what he had done to them in that time, but he didn't care. He would do anything for his friends, no matter how ridiculous. **[Well, bar murder.]**

Rocky and Luna, finally finished with The Criminal, stepped off to the green pup house where the ecology pup resided, chatting animatedly about something.

"Tastes like diabetes," Stefan stated happily. "I feel proud of myself."

"You did everything I said completely purposefully, didn't you?" The Expert asked him. Stefan laughed.

"Oh, by the way," Stefan started, "look at this." He produced a piece of paper that contained two messages on it. **[I wonder what these could be.]**

"'Hi Ryder, we will be having a new member of the family living here for the foreseeable future. I was wondering if we could finance her stay. Stefan.' Lovely." The Expert gave Stefan a look that looked normal, but behind it was all the mirth in the world. "'Stefan, yes, we can finance it. But you and your brother will have to do it. Consider it punishment for whatever ridiculous things you did to facilitate the change. Ryder.' Well, I hope you have some stolen riches left from your felon days."

Stefan laughed even louder. "What a great day." **[Indeed.]**

**And there it is! We are done this substory story! I hope you have joined me for this three-day ride and have enjoyed every paragraph. If you did, great! I achieved my goal. If not, I can live with that; you're entitled to your opinion. Anyway,**

**'Til next time, have a nice day!**


End file.
